Artist Statement

In the 1890s, Hilma af Klint began meeting regularly with a group of female artists who together became known as “The Five”. The Five practiced various forms of spiritualism, believing they could communicate with a higher consciousness. Af Klint thought herself directed by this otherworldly force to create a group of paintings called The Ten Largest for “The Temple”, an entity never wholly defined or understood. Standing at a colossal 10 feet high and 8 feet wide, each painting in the series represents a different phase of life from early childhood to old age. No. 7 depicts adulthood in full bloom. Botanical and biomorphic forms float in a diagram heavy with symbolism and alive with meditative movement. By the early 1900s, af Klint had developed a distinct spiritual style hallmarked by the interplay of the natural and supernatural. Stylistically unbound to the artistic conventions of the time, No. 7 is one of the first examples of abstract art.

Why We Love It

Springing from spiritualism and swarming with symbolism, color coding, and clues, The Ten Largest, No. 7, Adulthood, Group IV is a time traveller of sorts, a messenger from 1907 with a confoundingly contemporary air. We came face-to-face with this work at Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future, the exceptional Guggenheim exhibition (open through April 23rd!) where the original is displayed along with the rest of the series to which it belongs, a group of colossal paintings af Klint called The Ten Largest ... Read more on the blog!

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

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Hilma af Klint

Hilma
af
Klint
(1862-1944)
was
a
Swedish
artist
and
spiritualist
whose
colossal
works
have
become
known
as
some
of
the
first
examples
of
abstract
art.
With
an
early
interest
in
visual
art,
mathematics,
and
botany,
af
Klint
attended
the
Royal
Academy
of
Fine
Arts
in
Stockholm
where
she
excelled
in
landscape
painting
and
portraiture.
While
making
a
living
off
commission
from
these
conventional
endeavors,
af
Klint
became
greatly
involved
in
various
forms
of
spiritualism
including
Anthroposophy,
Theosophy,
and
Rosicrucianism.
In
the
1890s,
she
met
four
other
female
artists—together,
they
would
become
known
as
“The
Five”.
The
Five
met
regularly,
believing... Read More

they
could
communicate
with
a
higher
consciousness.
These
beliefs
heavily
influenced
and
even
“directed”
af
Klint’s
work.
She
created
her
first
series
of
abstract
works
in
1906,
predating
other
artists
such
as
Kandinsky
and
Mondrian,
who
are
often
regarded
as
the
“pioneers
of
abstraction”.
Soon
she
began
to
develop
a
more
intentional
and
independent
expression
of
her
ideas,
incorporating
biomorphic
forms,
mathematical
proportions,
and
vibrant
hues.
Af
Klint
kept
her
abstract
work
hidden
from
her
contemporaries,
believing
the
art
world
was
unready
to
fully
understand
it.
Stipulating
that
it
remain
secret
until
20
years
after
her
death,
her
work
was
largely
unknown
until
the
1980s.
Af
Klint
painted
for
a
future
audience,
one
willing
to
embrace
a
female
pioneer
in
the
field
and
the
holistic
nature
of
her
work.